When rules are put forth, rambunctious children who do not know any better tend to break the rules. When Heinz was in need of money to prevent his wife from dying of cancer, he broke the law and stole drugs to save her (See Heinz Dilemma). When under tight restraints, people sometimes tend to break free. This is the case for all the women in Lysistrata. Sex hormones run through all of our veins. So when your partner is at war for most of the time, your desires may be heightened. And with your partner at war, you are the only one left to run the household and provide for your family. Eventually, enough is enough and the women decide to break free of the gender box because they do not wish to continue on without any help from their husbands. They want to be a family with their husbands and children all under one roof for more than a few day’s time. So, they use their men’s desires against them and utilize the concept of sex to their advantage. With the women of Greece abstaining from sex, the men are somewhat doomed. One example is when, Kinesias goes to visit Myrrhine. He explains how her house has gone "to hell" (83). It is filled with "emptiness" (81) because the food is now tasteless because of her 'selfishness', her child "has not been washed or fed in a week” (82). With Myrrhine gone, he is left to care for himself and the child. He has no one to help with his ‘needs’ and is unable to think about anything else, since the desire of lust consumes him. Thus begging her to come home, because “life with women, is hell” but “life without women,is still hell, too” (96).
This quote by Annie Oakley describes how women, if given the opportunity can succeed outside of being a “housewife”.
Lysistrata and her band of women are some of the first women to break societal norms. Women were meant to stay in the house and bide by men's rules, but they were tired of being thought of as below men. By taking a stand, these women showed the men how important they actually are and how much men need them.
ReplyDeleteIt is ironic how Kinesias considers Myrrhine is selfish because the men can be considered selfish as well, going off to war and leaving the women home all alone. It is a lot of house work for a women alone. Kinesias realizes this when he is must tackle all of the chores. Kinesias is able to appreciate what women do when he "walked a mile in their shoes".
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anna-the men do not realize how much time and effort the women put into the home. The tables have turned, and instead of finding a sense of gratefulness, Kinesias is angry at Myrrhine for leaving him to deal with her daily routine. To him, she should return to her duties: cleaning the house, feeding the family, and pleasing her man. However, Myrrhine refuses to fit into the gender role any longer.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good post Tinah. Kinesias thought he could just use his old "alpha male" routine to bully Myrrhine into doing what he expects of her, but Myrrhine had the stronger resolve and Kinesias caved in the end. Myrrhine proved she was a strong, independent woman who "don't need no man" (finger snap) and did just fine acting as a 'single lady' as Beyoncé puts it. Kinesias should've just stayed in his lane.
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